Just like the words to the old song, “where have all the flowers gone, long time passing”. Well, I can tell you where a lot of the Grouper have gone. They are doing very well, growing large and breeding happily at Cabo de Gata.

That’s not to say we don’t have any of these spectacular fish here. In fact we do have some very nice specimens locally albeit they are very small and timid. Here they are hunted almost to extinction no matter what their size, by the local great white hunters in their camouflaged wetsuits and sprouting more spear guns than Rambo.

Solitary and territorial, groupers live for about 50 years can grow to 1.5 meters in length feeding on octopus crabs and fish. There are a various species of Grouper and the Dusky Grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) is the one we have the pleasure of observing along these shores.

However we do have other species here, not so high on the Rambo food chain, so their numbers are increasing. (Long may it continue) I refer to the Comber, Blacktail comber, Brown comber, Painted comber and the Mediterranean fairy basslet. The latter being the one that almost looks like a goldfish, which we commonly refer to by its proper name “Anthias”.